multi week / month tours & fitness

[Brandane]

Well done with the century Reiver. My experiences of touring are limited to shorter periods, e.g. about 10 day trips in various parts of France. I will soon be flying to Bordeaux with the intention of cycling back to the channel coast.

Like yourself, I don't do huge mileages at home, and at age 51 am resigned to never being anything other than moderately fit.

I find when touring, as others have said, your whole day is devoted to cycling. You are not likely to have other commitments apart from eating and sleeping. I found that if I set off at a reasonable time then by lunchtime I had been riding for 4 hours or so, and had 45 - 50 miles done! A leisurely lunch then another few hours in the saddle and I had covered another 30 miles. So that was 70 - 80 miles without pushing too hard. It's amazing how the miles just pass by when touring. An 80 mile ride at home is a major achievement for me. Good luck if you decide to do Italy. Go for it before you regret NOT doing it .

 

[Ticktockmy]

Well done with the century Reiver. My experiences of touring are limited to shorter periods, e.g. about 10 day trips in various parts of France. I will soon be flying to Bordeaux with the intention of cycling back to the channel coast.

Like yourself, I don't do huge mileages at home, and at age 51 am resigned to never being anything other than moderately fit.

I find when touring, as others have said, your whole day is devoted to cycling. You are not likely to have other commitments apart from eating and sleeping. I found that if I set off at a reasonable time then by lunchtime I had been riding for 4 hours or so, and had 45 - 50 miles done! A leisurely lunch then another few hours in the saddle and I had covered another 30 miles. So that was 70 - 80 miles without pushing too hard. It's amazing how the miles just pass by when touring. An 80 mile ride at home is a major achievement for me. Good luck if you decide to do Italy. Go for it before you regret NOT doing it .

I must do things wrong, I can never seem to ride for more that a hour before I find something interesting to look at, or stop and chat with some local, or take a few pictures.

 

[Ticktockmy]

[QUOTE 3085836, member: 9609"]no, my pack attaches onto the bike, see photo below. I just added some sand to weigh it down - first 100mile ever maplink , its a long long long way 105.6m in just over 11 hours. physically it was ok, although I did give up on a hill near the end and lie on the road for 5 minutes to recover . 4rse is sore again, seriously sore, well, just behind the nutts, must try out some of these nappy pants cyclists wear, and what is the cream people use, sudocream ? i'm going to have to do someting, astonishing painful when i had a bath, may be i should just miss out the bath bit. theres always something isnt there

and this obviously was not from today, but the set up is the same - I have a bigger pack thatr i can take with me, if i go

[/QUOTE]
Maybe I am looking at your cycle setup wrongly but to me it look like the saddle is set incorrectly looking at the angle of , which could account for a sore perineum, handle bars look as they are set high with regard to the saddle Just my thoughts..

 

[Brandane]

I must do things wrong, I can never seem to ride for more that a hour before I find something interesting to look at, or stop and chat with some local, or take a few pictures.

Not wrong, just different. I like to stop as well, but usually just briefly for a photo or whatever. I don't like leaving the bike with its luggage unattended, which can be a bit restricting. If I'm going to be near the bike, I might as well be riding it.